Facebook launches an alpha testing program for Android users

Facebook is looking to get user feedback on its Android mobile app in a much earlier phase than ever before. In a blog post, mobile release engineering lead Christian Legnitto introduced its Facebook for Android alpha testing program.

In the four months since the beta program was released, Facebook says it is seeing over 1 million daily active users on its beta release from across 150 countries. Its testers are trying the company’s apps on phones from over 50 manufacturers, run multiple versions of Android, and across various networks. The company also says that it has received over 1,000 direct pieces of feedback from participants, including feature requests, bug reports, and posts in its feedback groups.

With its alpha program, Facebook wants to get feedback at an earlier stage in the development process. But aside from where in the process it takes place, both the alpha and beta programs will be pretty similar. Here’s how you can get enrolled in the program: